


NCT Life (Childhood Dreams)

by HansoldMySoul, PandiBear



Series: NCT Life [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Chenle eats everything, Crack, Fluff, Jaemin doesn't like gifts, Jeno is satan, Kid!Huang Ren Jun, Kid!Lee Donghyuck | Haechan, Kid!Lee Jeno, Kid!Na Jaemin, Kid!Wong Yukhei | Lucas, Kid!Zhong Chen Le, M/M, One-Shots, Strange personality traits, but only to Jaehyun, kid!Lee Minhyung | Mark, kid!Park Jisung, slight angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2018-09-14 06:10:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 17,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9165499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HansoldMySoul/pseuds/HansoldMySoul, https://archiveofourown.org/users/PandiBear/pseuds/PandiBear
Summary: One-shots all about NCT as 5 families.[Hansol and Yuta just wish Jaemin would stop giving away all his toys.Johnny and Ten think Mark might be slightly obsessed with reading and wish he would socialise more.Jaehyun thinks Jeno is out to get him whilst Jisung is the perfect angel, Doyoung disagrees.Sicheng and Kun think they might have a heart attack if Chenle keeps eating everything in sight whilst Renjun hero worships his baby brother and Yukhei just tries to fit in.Taeil and Taeyong somehow ended up with actual satan as their child and it just so happens that Satan likes to build things.]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Information for this chapter:
> 
> Age 5: Mark Age 4: Renjun, Jeno, Donghyuck, Jaemin
> 
> Age 3: Chenle Age 2: Jisung

"Donghyuck will you please stop running?" Taeil sighed as he watched his son run around after a clearly unhappy Renjun.

"Sorry about him" he said looking apologetic towards Kun, the younger man waving him off as he watched the two run. "It's good, Renjun only ever wants to play with Chenle so seeing him with someone his own age is good".

Sicheng laughed in agreement as he ate one of the sandwiches on the table. Taeil laughed uncertain, the young boy didn't look like he was happy about being chased around.

Taeyong walked into the room with another plate of sandwiches, placing them down on the table before looking around at the children in the room. Much like his lover he sighed at the sight of his little trouble terrorising the slightly elder Chinese boy.

Turning slightly he saw Jeno sitting on the floor, blocks of different colours and shapes lay around him as he smiled, at what Taeyong wasn't sure. "I wish Donghyuck was as well behaved as Jeno".

"You don't, that child is scary" Jaehyun said as he watched his older son smile at the wall opposite him. Doyoung scowled and hit his husband with him right hand, his left arm occupied by Jisung. "He is not, he is an angel".

"You only say that because he likes you" Jaehyun said, looking at the table sadly.

"He does like you, now stop being silly".

Taeyong looked at Ten and Johnny, both of whom were stuffing their faces, he rolled his eyes. "What about Mark? He seems like a good kid".

Mark was sitting on the floor, a book of shapes in his hands as he appeared to be reading it out loud. Jaemin stood behind him, pack of crayons in hand. He looked confused as the older boy was talking about cats but the picture was clearly a square.

Johnny put his thumb up in agreement, quickly swallowing the food he was eating.

"Oh yeah his great, he is better behaved than Ten" he yelped as the younger man, slapped his arm before huffing and walking away.

"You deserved that" Yuta laughed out, Johnny scowled and turned towards Hansol, who was drinking from a coffee cup with 'World's Best Dad' written on it. "Hansol control your man child please" Johnny said gesturing towards Yuta, who released an indignant 'hey!' at the comment.

"Anyways..." Kun drawled "which child is that cup from, Hansol?" the elder boy looked confused as he only had one son. Sicheng chuckled before joining his husband in teasing the other man "yeah, was is Jaemin or Yuta?"

The adults laughed at the comment, the exception being Yuta who stomped his foot in protest. He gave up whining when he noticed nobody was listening to him, pouting slightly he turned to look towards his son.

Jaemin stood next to Chenle, the youngest Chinese boy was rolling around on the floor leisurely by himself. Jaemin stopped him, handing him the pack of crayons before walking away.

The adults cooed at the sight, only stopping as they heard a despaired Hansol say "not again". Taeil looked at his friend, eyebrow raised in question. Hansol sighed. "He keeps giving all his toys away, even if you try and give them back to him later he'll refuse and say he doesn't want them".

Taeil nodded his head in sympathy, his own son was the opposite, never one to share his toys with other people.

Ten stood up stretching, he walked towards his son "Minhyung, time to go home". The boy ignored his father as he continued to talk about the blue haired wizard. Trying again Ten received the same response "Johnny he's ignoring me". The older man walked to his son bending down "What are you reading Mark?" he asked, looking at the book of shapes that he son was holding. "Dragons and Wizards" the boy replied happily.

Ten frowned as Johnny laughed. "That's great buddy but you should answer your dad when he talks to you". Mark's lips tipped downwards into a frown "I didn't, he was talking to Minhyung not Mark". Ten sighed, tired of hearing this argument all the time so he just rolled his eyes and put his hand out.

"Okay Mark, time to go home". Mark closed his book, putting it under one arm before grabbing his dad's hand.

He took the boy towards the door where he helped him into his coat and shoes. "Say bye, Mark" the boy waved his arm in goodbye before walking out the door with his parents.

The other parents soon followed until only Yuta and Hansol were left. "I guess we should clean up a bit" Yuta said as he went to sit down next to his son, the young boy was sitting on the floor playing with a toy phone he received on his birthday.

Hansol sighed as he started cleaning up, his husband clearly having no intention of helping him.


	2. Of  Choco Milk, Blocks and Rainbow Dinosaurs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Never come between a boy and his choco milk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Information for chapter:  
> Age 4: Jeno   
> Age 2: Jisung

"Ranbow!"

 

Jaehyun cooed at Jisung who he help in his arms, the youngest child had just worker up from his afternoon nap and as per usual he was happy.

"That's right, rainbow" Jaehyun corrected his son. Doyoung sat at the table drinking his iced-tea as he watched his elder son play with his multi-coloured blocks.

 

"Why do you think he only ever plays with blocks" The elder man asked as he turner to face his significant other. The handsome man shrugged, turning to watch his other son as he bounced Jisung lightly in his arms, the younger giggling happily.

They sat like this, enjoying the peaceful afternoon and the quietness which accompanied it. This quiet was broken by the shrill of the phone, Doyoung sighed as he left the room to answer the blasted device.

Jeno suddenly stood and walked towards the table, he stood right in front of Jaehyun before pointed at the fridge, seeing this the older man understood what was about to happen.

"Choco milk" Jeno said, his eyes smiling but his voice telling Jaehyun that he had no choice but get him what he wanted. Jaehyun sighed as he walked into the living room to put Jisung down on the floor, then went back into the kitchen where he was met with the now frowning face of Jeno.

"Jeno, you had some an hour ago". Jaehyun gulped as he saw the 4 year old's eyes harden.

 

"Choco milk" Jeno repeated, pointing towards the fridge. Jaehyun sighed as he looked down at his son "Jeno, no more"

"Choco milk" This time the words were paired with a loud 'thump' as the boy stomped his foot. Seeing his father make no move to get his desired drink he started to feel upset. Jaehyun thought he had won when the boy lowered his head, those thoughts were quickly disposed of when he saw a droplet of water hit the floor, then another, and another.

Jaehyun felt himself panic as he rushed to the boy and kneeled down beside him, he put his hands lightly on the boy's shoulders. "Daddy's sorry Jeno, he'll get you choco milk now. Stop crying, okay?" He wiped his son's tears away and the boy nodded his head.

 

Jaehyun quickly stood and collected the chocolate milk and a cup. After pouring the liquid he quickly gave the cup to his son. Jeno drank some before turning to leave, glancing back for a few seconds before making his way to the living room, where he was sure his blocks were calling for him.

 

If the boy wasn't only four year's old, he would have sworn he saw the child smirk at him. Somehow Jaehyun couldn't help but feel like he had just been tricked.

 

Doyoung walked into the floor to find his husband sitting in a chain, sulking as he leaned his head on the table. Raising an eyebrow he walked over to his lover and ran a hand through the younger male's dyed blonde hair. "What happened to you?" 

 

Jaehyun lifted his head, his eyebrows were pulled down as the younger man still looked puzzled and upset. "I think I was just tricked by a four year old?" 

 

"And how exactly did he trick you?" He asked, leaning to the side slightly so he could look into the other room where Jeno was now staring at Jisung. 

 

"He cried so I would give him chocolate milk, then when he was leaving I saw this devilish look on his face, it was as if he had planned the whole thing" Jaehyun slouched, his head meeting the table once again.

 

Doyoung rolled his eyes and went into the living room so he could keep a closer eye on the two boys. Both were still sitting on the floor, Jeno was still staring at his younger brother, a smile on his face the whole time. 

 

After a few minutes, Doyoung realised neither boy was going to move anytime soon so he leaned back and started scrolling through his phone, replying to emails that had to be answered. He did for another twenty minutes before he heard Jisung laughing, looking at them he saw a disgruntled Jisung and a happy Jisung.

 

"No laugh, no laugh" Jeno scolded the boy but it didn't help as the younger started to laugh more, apparently amused by his older brother. 

 

"No more" Jeno frowned, standing up he moved back to his blocks so he didn't have to be with the boy anymore. This didn't bother Jisung as he picked up his stuffed dinosaur toy (one that Doyoung was sure came from Jaemin) and startled to imitate the creature roar as best as he could, which was pretty good in Jisung's opinion, after all that's what his daddy's always told him and they knew everything.

 

"Ranbow Dino" Jisung said before roaring again. Doyoung shook his head a smile lighting his features as he watched, he was just glad he caught in on camera.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I hope you all enjoyed the 2nd chapter. Comments or kudos are always nice ^.^
> 
> Did you all see Limitless?! I loved it, although the line distribution was not great. Johnny finally debuted, I'm shook >.<  
> Now we're just waiting for Hansol and Kun!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Information for chapter:
> 
> Age 3: Renjun
> 
> Age2: Chenle

“Renjun! Stop following Chenle, he doesn’t like it and you need to come and clean up your crayons before dinner.” Kun spoke softly but firmly, hoping that his eldest son wouldn’t put up a fight just this once. The young, dark haired child either didn’t hear him (unlikely) or chose to completely ignore the instruction in favour of rushing to his younger brother’s side to assist the toddler who’d fallen onto his butt and was now staring around the room startled.

“Renjun-“ He tried again but the child cut him off, turning his head and staring at his father with a sharp look in his eyes (which Kun found only slightly terrifying for a three year old).

“Daddy.” Renjun replied, the world falling off his tongue like a reprimand that left Kun torn between wanting to laugh and feeling like he should sit the boy down make sure he knew who the parent was.

Chenle chose that moment to start crying, his face turning red as furious tears trailed down his face. It was as though he’d only just figured out that the fall had hurt and was now making up for lost time. Kun went to scoop the disgruntled toddler up into his arms and offer some comfort when Renjun rushed to his side, all previous pretence of belligerence gone, to try and sooth his baby brother.

“What’s wrong baby?” Sicheng cooed, walking into the room with a small red shirt folded over one arm as he tried to figure out if the green sweater had always been missing an arm or someone had decided that it would look better without it (The teeth marks would suggest the latter but you never know.)

Renjun narrowed his eyes as Sicheng scooped the still wailing Chenle into his arms but did nothing to protest the movement otherwise.

“He fell, I don’t think he’s hurt. He only started crying when he realised we were looking at him. Can you get Renjun to clean up his crayons? We could do without a repeat of the ‘mural’ he decided to grace our dining room wall with last week.” Kun stated, approaching his husband and taking the now calm toddler into his own arms so that Sicheng could have a turn at dealing with their older son.

“I’ll get this one, but you’re on bedtime duty.” Sicheng replied, turning to his son with a knowing look. The younger boy stood his ground, arms crossed as he watched his baby brother be taken from the room, unable to follow but he made no attempt to speak.

“Renjun, pick up your crayons. You know it’s dangerous to leave things laying around for your brother to pick up. Remember last time?” He spoke calmly, lowering himself to Renjun’s eye level and talking to him like a ‘grown up’. That did it, the child’s eyes were on him in an instant, a look of shock horror on his face as he no doubt remembered the baby putting his legos in his mouth and the subsequent panicked frenzy his parents had to make sure he hadn’t swallowed any of it.

“I’m going! Ever faster than superman!” Renjun yelled, already in the hall by the time he’d finished speaking. It was easy to see that their elder son adored his younger brother but the depth of that could be little overwhelming sometimes, especially when he chose to shut them out for reasons they’d yet to determine. Renjun was a quiet kid but he wasn’t necessarily badly behaved, just a little misguided in his sense of wrong and right. Chenle on the other hand, had a habit of trying to eat anything and everything that had led to more than a few tense situations. (He also preferred rolling to walking as a mode of transport but that was harmless.)

“Now why didn’t I think of that?” Kun asked, a smile tugging at his lips as he rocked a now-sleeping Chenle who must have tired himself out with all the fussing and crying. He’d been listening outside the door the whole time and it always amazed him how easily Sicheng was able to get through to their younger son.

Sicheng smiled, folding the jumper over his arm and mentally deciding that it was probably destined for the trash anyway, Renjun had just about outgrown it. “You couldn’t have said it even if you thought of it. You, Qian Kun are way too soft and you’d be too afraid of upsetting him even if it is the truth.”

“I’m not soft,” Kun muttered, turning on the pout that usually got him anything he wanted.

“You are, you love him too much to even potentially upset him. Even if he doesn’t listen to you, you listen to every word he says.” His husband shot back, striding over to him and placing a kiss on his cheek before continuing out of the room.

Kun only shrugged, it was true after all. He did always have trouble playing the role of the mean parent but that wasn’t something he was afraid of… even if Renjun did seem to think he was in charge at least eighty percent of the time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relevant ages for this chapter:
> 
> Mark - 5 Years Old

“So how was school buddy?” Johnny asked, taking Mark’s hand and leading him carefully through the throng on people that would bring them to their car. The five year old had started school less than two weeks ago and he’d had bad days and good days in that time.

An adorable furrow appeared between Mark’s eyebrows and he opened his mouth before frowning and closing it again, staring resolutely forward instead of answering.

“Hey,” Johnny stopped, crouching down to his son’s level and looking him in the eye. “What’s up? From one to ten, how good was your day?” The young boy contemplated, looking down to count on his fingers once before he had an answer for his dad.

“Four.” He answered simply, holding up three accompanying fingers to which Johnny had to hold back a chuckle.

“Why was it only a four?” He prompted, lifting the boy under the armpits and settling him in the car seat comfortably before closing the door and walking round to the other side to climb into the car himself. Mark shook his head and frowned again. “The teacher lady, she’s mean by the way, took my book away because we had to colour but I didn’t want to colour daddy!” The child was suitably unimpressed and Johnny listened intently, giving the occasional dramatic gasp or otherwise expected reaction so that his son knew he was listening.

“Why didn’t you want to colour? You love stories but wouldn’t they be boring without pretty pictures to look at?” Johnny reasoned, noting the way Mark’s frown only deepened when he mentioned the pictures instead of disappearing completely. “No.” He replied stoutly, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat so he could look very pointedly out the window.

“No?” Johnny repeated, waiting once again for his son to explain his abrupt answers.

“No because the drawers are supposed to make the pictures and the bookers are supposed to make the story. I don’t want to be a drawer so I don’t have to draw.” Mark’s expression was deadly serious but Johnny wanted to laugh at the explanation. He wasn’t sure whether the small boy just didn’t have much of an artistic flair or if he was just being deliberately petulant because things hadn’t gone his way like they so often did.

“Ah, I guess you’re right. If you don’t want to draw then you shouldn’t have to but maybe you should leave your book at home tomorrow? That way you’ll have some time to play with your friends.” He decided that it was easier to placate the boy for now, he’d likely grow out of his dependence on the little book he carried around with him everywhere he went.

They pulled up in front of the house and Johnny climbed out of the car, rushing round to the other side to help Mark, who was already struggling with his seatbelt (and not getting very far). Once the boy was safely on the ground with his book bag in hand, they set off towards the house, neither one speaking.

A few doors away, a familiar group were also trying to herd their son towards the door and were seemingly having a little more trouble than he himself was. Jaemin was digging his heels into the ground and having a stare down with Yuta who was tugging on his hand while Hansol watched from the threshold, happy to let his husband do the parenting for the time being. Upon catching sight of his slightly older friend, Jaemin pulled his hand out of Yuta’s and turned towards them, throwing the football he’d been carrying under his arm towards Mark before turning away and sprinting towards Hansol as though he hadn’t been protesting just a moment earlier.

Mark stared at the ball by his feet, picking it up and walking towards their own door with it tucked firmly between his hands before depositing it in the flower pot on the porch and promptly forgetting about its existence when Ten pulled the door open and ushered the both of them inside.

“Did you have a good day Minhyung?” Ten questioned, watching the boy carefully untie his shoelaces and slide his shoes off before lining them up exactly on the shoe rack. He didn’t answer the question which wasn’t unusual when he was addressed by his Korean name (although they’d yet to figure out why that was.)

“Minhyung?” Ten spoke again, this time placing his hand on Mark’s shoulder to try and ensure that he had the young child’s attention. Mark looked up with wide eyes, surprise evident in his expression, and pointed to himself in a silent enquiry.

“Silly Daddy, I’m not Minhyung, I’m Mark!” He exclaimed, giggling when Johnny grinned widely from behind his husband. Ten played along, pretending as though he’d actually forgotten so as not to confuse the boy further.

“Daddy is silly isn’t he? So, what do you want for dinner Mark?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Llama again! Sorry if the chapter seems lacklustre, I've had a hard time putting it into words.
> 
> Next chapter will be Yusol + Jaemin!
> 
> Comments and Kudos are always greatly appreciated!
> 
> -Llama


	5. It's Not Mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not even a shiny, new fire truck is enough to please some 4 year olds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Age reference for chapter:
> 
> Jaemin- age 4

"Nee-nor-nee-nor"

 

The bright red truck was zooming backwards and forwards in a line as a sticky hand held onto the toy. Yuta watched from the sofa, bright smile lighting up his face as he watched his only son play with the toy. Hansol, who was sitting next to his husband watched, relieved that the boy was finally showing interest in something, a rare occurrence, one which was more of a miracle where both of the boys parents were concerned.

 

'Maybe he'll actually keep this one' the elder man thought to himself happily, reaching down slightly to pat his jacket pocket, his wallet tucked safely inside.

 

The boy on the floor continued to play with the almost-to-bright fire truck, fascination on his cute features as he watched the wheels spin round every time he moved it. 

 

The relief the parents shared was short lived, they watched as the small boy stood, wobbling slightly on his feel before he managed to find his balance, the child turned so he was facing his parents and pointed at the toy. "Donghyuck" 

 

The two older men sighed as they looked at the newly bought (and fairly expensive toy) in despair. Yuta stood and went to kneel down beside the boy. Jaemin looked into his father's eyes before giving a quick greeting of "Yuta" and a nod of the head before he gripped onto the man's jacket, shaking it slightly before pointing back at the toy. "Nana give to Donghyuck?" the boy asked, as if he was actually giving his parents the choice. 

 

Yuta shook his head at the boy, and giving a small smile. "No, that's Nana's toy, not Donghyuck's" Hansol watched in amusement as the smile fell of the boy's face and it soon turned into a frown as he huffed at his younger parent. "Not Nana's" Jaemin disagreed shaking his head.

 

"Yes it is" Yuta, replied pettily to the child. Hansol sighed as he watched the two, sometimes it really felt like he was the only adult in the house. 

 

"It's not mine!" The youngest member of the family stomped his foot, his face going bright red as he prepared to throw a tantrum. Seeing this Yuta stood, backing away from his agitated son as he shot a look to Hansol, one that the older man ignored not wanting to take the fall as the 'bad' parent again. 

 

Yuta threw his hands up in exasperation, huffing before looking back at his son. "Okay. Fine. You win. We'll go and see them later". Jaemin stopped and seemed to think about it for a moment before he ran out of the living and to the man door. Hansol laughed as he watched the boy, standing from his seat he walked to the doorway and leaned against it, watching as his son tugged at the handle, frowning when he noticed it wasn't opening.

 

Hansol and Yuta had decided weeks before to get a lock on the inside of the door after several terrifying experiences of finding the door wide open and no Jaemin inside. 

 

"What you doing, bud?" Jaemin turned towards his dad and pointed towards the door. Yuta finally joined his loved in the hallways, watching how the older man choose to deal with their son. "Jaemin, remember to use your words"

 

Jaemin huffed but listened. "Open door" 

 

"Not right now, how about we go and see Donghyuck later?" Jaemin didn't seem to agree to this idea as he puffed out his cheeks and turned to his other dad. "Yuta, open" he demanded, looking his dad right in the eye, almost communicating that the other didn't have a choice in this matter. Yuta shook his head "nope, you heard your dad. We'll do see Donghyuck later". 

 

Jaemin stood there for a moment, face blank as he just stared at the two men in front of him as if they had lost their minds. He turned back towards the door and kicked it before walking past his parents, back into the living room. Hansol followed after his, tugging his phone out of his back pocket and sliding through his pictures, after he found the one he was looking for he put the phone in front of his face as if he was on a video call. 

 

"Hi Taeyong, its Hansol" the man watched as Jaemin's head flew up, eyes wide as he heard who his dad was 'calling'. "Yeah we were wondering if Jaemin could come over to give something to Donghyuck" he watched as Jaemin nodded his head frantically, as if he was trying to tell the other man that his father was telling the truth. "Oh, he can't? Ah because Donghyuck is busy right now, but he can come over later? Okay I'll tell" Hansol walked over to the boy and showed Jaemin the picture of Taeyong smiling into the camera. "Nana, say bye" the younger boy smiled and waved at the picture, clearly not noticing the lack of sound or movement on screen.

 

Hansol pretended to hand up and then sat down beside Jaemin. "I'm sorry Nana, Donghyuck's daddy says that you can't go right now" Jaemin shrugged "Go later?" Hansol nodded and stroked his son's hair. 

 

"Well since you've been such a good boy, why don't we go to the park?" Jaemin nodded happily as he bounced up off the floor and out of the room, screaming 'Yuta' loudly as he looked for his other parent to share the good news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, the 2Tae and Donghyuck chapter will be next ^.^
> 
> Pandi~


	6. Mr. Fix It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relevant Character ages for this chapter:
> 
> Donghyuck - 6 Years Old

“It’s eerily quiet, why is it quiet? It’s never quiet when Donghyuck’s home from school—“ Taeil muttered quietly, almost as though he was afraid to shatter the calm that had descended upon the house by speaking too loudly. Taeyong’s eyebrows were furrowed as he seriously considered the question, only then noticing that their son was being unusually quiet and he actually hadn’t seen the boy for at least an hour since they’d returned from Jaehyun and Doyoung’s house.

“He was in his room the last time I checked, he can’t have gotten into too much trouble by himself really.” Taeyong replied, placing a placating hand on his husband’s shoulder and moving to guide them both out of the room and into their six year old son’s room.

Neither parent was really sure how to react to the sight that greeted them when they arrived. Donghyuck, dressed in dark blue overalls with messy hair, was sitting cross-legged in the middle of his rug, surrounded by tiny parts and wires that would have once been a part of his now-completely dissembled bedside lamp and half of his play keyboard which was clearly in the process of being taken apart.

“Donghyuck baby, what’s all this?” Taeil inquired, taking a step into the room and alerting the child to the fact that he was no longer alone. The boy turned to his dad and gave him a toothy smile, proudly showing off the gaps between his teeth as he beckoned the two of them closer.

“I wanted my piano to light up so I’m putting it together with my light so that it will make light when I play!” Donghyuck explained, gesticulating wildly with his hands as he explained his plight as though it were the simplest thing in the world. Taking a closer look, Taeyong could see that several of the wires trailing from the lamp were actually connected to the small keyboard and if he weren’t so terrified that his son was going to electrocute himself then he might have actually been proud of the achievement.

“Can you come over here real quick sweetie?” Taeil asked, holding his arms out for Donghyuck and grinning when the boy ran to him with unbridled enthusiasm. “How about you let daddy clean up the lamp and we’ll go and make a start on dinner,” he offered, knowing immediately that he was going to be turned down when Donghyuck’s bright expression was replaced by a scowl and the child wiggled out of his grasp.

“No!” Donghyuck exclaimed, already turning red in the face as his small hands clenched into fists. “Mine!” He continued, backing away from Taeil and beginning to gather miscellaneous bits of metal and plastic and shove them into the numerous pockets afforded by his overalls.

Taeyong quickly stepped forward, holding his hands up in surrender when Donghyuck narrowed his eyes at the silver haired man. “Okay Hyuck, we won’t take it away from you but you still need to go and wash your hands or me and daddy will have to eat all of the food to ourselves and it’s really tasty.” 

That did the trick, Donghyuck only scowled for a moment before promptly dropping what he was holding and side-stepping out of the room (making sure to avoid Taeil who he still believed had betrayed him.) From there, it was easy to shut and lock the door so that they could clean up the mess without further interruption.

“How did he even manage this? It’s not like he has a screwdriver in here or anything.” Taeil commented, already making a stack of tiny, plastic piano keys while Taeyong scoops the remnants of what was once a lamp into a bag.

“I’m not sure, let’s just finish this and get out of here before he decides that he wants to dismantle the stove next because it looks fun.” Taeyong replied, pulling himself to his feet and then offering a hand to his lover.

“Oh god, you’re right. Let’s go,” Taeil agreed, dragging them out of the room and towards the kitchen just to assure himself that Donghyuck had managed to stay out of trouble for the shole five minutes since they’d last seen him.

They were greeted by a smiley Donghyuck and a wooden chain that was missing a leg.

“It’s like my trike!” Donghyuck giggled by way of explanation and both parents just thought it best to nod along.

If they were lucky then maybe they’d have some actual furniture left by Christmas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter by Llama! This marks the final family intro chapter, from this points the chapter will contain any number of characters and will jump around quite a lot time wise so make sure to always read to chapter notes at the beginning to make sure you're aware of the age range.
> 
> Comments and Kudos are always greatly appreciated!~
> 
> -Lallama


	7. Let It Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The children play in the snow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday to my amazing co-author HansoldMySold.
> 
> Relevant ages for chapter:
> 
> Age 4: Jisung
> 
> Age 5: Chenle
> 
> Age 6: Jaemin, Donghyuck, Jeno, Renjun
> 
> Age 7: Mark

The bedroom was dark, the sun barely rising into the sky as the two parents slept peacefully, blissfully unaware of the biting cold and layers of white snow building up outside. Snow was never a time of enjoyment for them, it meant early mornings outside as they watched their son play in the snow (which meant both of them would end up with snow over them some way or another.

 

Their rest was short lived as when the clock struck 7am, their own little alarm ran into the room screeching 'Snow! Snow!' as he climbed onto his parents beds and jumped on them without mercy.

 

Taeil was woken to a knee in his stomach as he groaned in pain and opened his eyes to watch his son now claiming his second victim. Taeyong woke seconds after, grabbing Donghyuck who screeched even louder as he tried to escape the embrace he was pulled into.

"Let him go before he gets angry" Taeil instructed, his voice still groggy with sleep. Taeyong did as he was told, both parents knew how quickly Donghyuck's mood could switch and neither wanted to be on the receiving end of an angry Donghyuck that early in the morning, Taeil was sure he needed to actually be awake in order to deal with that.

 

Donghyuck watched, bouncing slightly on the end of the bed, as both his parents woke themselves up and slowly made their way from bed. 

 

"Hyuck, why don't you be a good boy and go and get dressed while your daddies do the same, then we can go each breakfast" Donghyuck thought about it for a minute before turning to glare at the Taeyong, the older man surprised as he noticed the look he son was giving him. "I want to play in the snow" Donghyuck said, his arms crossing over his chest tightly as he glared. Taeyong put his hands up in surrender, smiling at the younger boy. "You will, but in order for you to be super strong and lift all that snow you need to eat first, otherwise you won't be able to" Donghyuck's eyes widened at his father's words, nodding in understanding. 

 

"Make breakfast really fast!" was all the youngest boy said before he rushed out the room to get dressed. Taeyong shook his head, a smile on his face as he watched his son zoom out of the room. After a few minutes Taeil returned to the room, towel in hand as he dried his hair. "You can shower now, I'll make breakfast" Taeyong nodded, giving his husband a quick peck on the lips as he moved past him into the bathroom. 

 

When Taeil walked into to the kitchen he was met by Donghyuck who was already sitting at the table. "What do you want for breakfast this morning?" he asked as he ran his fingers through his son's hair, noting how he would need to get it trimmed soon as he noticed how long it had gotten. Donghyuck tapped his chin thoughtfully before giving a gummy smile. "I want that chocolate cereal" Taeil cringed at his sons words, curse Yuta for letting him each that unhealthy, sugar pack cereal the boy never stopped asking for it. The oldest male shook his head at his son "how able porridge?" Taeil asked, disheartened as he saw the boy scrunch up his nose in distaste before shaking his head. "Not even if we put a few fruit cars in there" this seemed to work as he saw his son's head snap up at the mention of the snack. 

 

Taeil quickly finished the breakfast, Taeyong joining them after leaving the shower and they all sat to eat (and play, much to Taeil's displeasure) with their food. 

 

"Hyuck how about we invite your friends so you can play in the snow together" Taeyong asked as he stood up, collecting the bowls from the table. Donghyuck nodded and started talking all the boys and what he wanted to do with them. Taeil laughed as he listened and left the room to phone his friends. 

 

After about half an hour they had all arrived, fully geared up in warm clothes, with bright coats, hats and scarves on. "Jaemin put your gloves back on, Jeno already has a pair. You need them or your hands will get cold" Hansol said as he put the gloves back on a clearly displeased Jaemin's hands, the younger boy huffing as he followed his friends into the garden. 

 

The play seemed to be going well, Jisung was sitting in the snow playing with a dinosaur figure he had brought from home, he made roaring noises as the dinosaurs was dragged through the snow, Jaehyun was happy that the toy had distracted him from the cute dinosaur hat on the young boys head so he was no longer trying to take it off. Doyoung was watching as their older son sat trying to transport the blocks he had made from snow, never discourages even though every single one had broken when he has picked it up. 

 

Donghyuck ran around happily with Jaemin, both boys were once again chasing Renjun, surprisingly the boy looking happy as he ran away from the two, progress. 

 

Chenle stood curiously as he stared at Mark, the oldest boy was laying in the snow, limbs spread out but not moving at all. "What are you doing?" he asked, not quite sure how to react to his oldest friend. "Making a snow angel" Mark said as he continued to just lay still. Chenle frowned, his daddy told him he had to move his arms and legs to do that, but the older boy was not. "You're doing it wrong" Chenle pointed out. Mark moved his arms and legs mere centimetres before stopping again. "Finished" he said not bothering to move. Chenle shook his head deciding to just leave his be. 

 

Things continued to be peaceful until the parents heard the shrill shriek from Jisung, the youngest boy face flat on the ground, Jaehyun rushed to him picking him up and bouncing him slightly in his arms as he tried to comfort the boy, after a few minutes it was clear the boy had no plans of calming down so Jaehyun took him inside. 

 

The other boys seemed to complete ignore the crying as they continued to play happily in the snow. Renjun had somehow managed to drag Chenle into helping him build a snowman, the attempts looked rather sad but for Sicheng and Kun they could only coo as they watched the two. Taeyong stood taking photos of all the children, the scene of them all together to precious for his photographer instincts to ignore.

 

Yuta felt someone hit him with a bunch of snow, not surprised in the slightest when he saw Jaemin standing there, snow in hand and a smiling Donghyuck beside him. Crouching down he collected a clump of snow and squished it into a ball. He few it towards the two boys, watching as both moved out the way, the snow hitting a different target, Mark. Yuta didn't have time to even apologise to the young boy before snow was dumped on top of his head. Turning slightly he saw Johnny standing there, dusting snow from his hands as Ten went to see if his 'little' Minhyung was okay. Yuta huffed but didn't fight back, after all Johnny would be able to collect more snow than him and he didn't feel like losing. 

 

They managed to stay outside for another ten minutes before Taeil declared it two cold so they took the children back inside. Once inside they removed all their outdoor wear and slid under different blankets which were spread out in the living room so they could all enjoy watching a movie.


	8. A New Addition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relevant Character Ages for this chapter:
> 
> Chenle - 6 Years Old   
> Jaemin - 7 Years Old  
> Renjun - 7 Years Old  
> Yukhei - 8 Years Old

The sight that greeted Sicheng when he entered the kitchen was nothing unusual, It probably should have been but the sight of seven year old Jaemin sitting at their kitchen table was a more common occurrence than you’d think. In fact, the boy seemed to spend more time at their house than he did his own and Renjun had taken to referring to the same aged boy as his brother despite them having no actual relation.

Any other day, he’d sit down and talk with the boy about his day but there are more pressing matters that Sicheng has to attend to, namely the eight year old boy currently observing him cautiously from the doorway but making no move to make his way any further into the room.

“Jaemin darling, I think it’s time for you to head home now. Did you have lunch with Kun and the boys?” Sicheng inquired, watching the young boy huff but get to his feet none the less, eyeing the other child in the doorway before turning to answer.

“Yeah…” He trailed off, carefully folding the sheets of paper he’d been drawing on and placing them on top of the burgundy book he was carrying before hugging both items to his chest. “Thank you for having me,” the young boy said politely, bowing almost ninety degrees and almost losing his grip on the items he was holding as he did so before straightening up again.

“It’s always a pleasure Jae, do you need me to walk you back over the street?” Sicheng replied, knowing the boy would decline as always but unable to stop himself from asking just in case. Either way he’d watch from the window to ensure that the boy got home with problems, for both his own piece of mind and that of Yuta and Hansol also.

Jaemin shook his head, already slipping on his shoes with limited difficulty. The other child, who’d only moved from his spot to make sure he was well out of Jaemin’s way, was watching the scene with wide eyes from the bottom of the stairs.

“Bye!” Jaemin called, slipping out the door and looking both ways dutifully before running across the empty road. Sicheng watched amused as the boy avoided his own house and instead, knocked on the door to Jaehyun and Doyoung’s, not eager to go home just yet. Appeased the he was safe, Sicheng moved away from the window and turned his attention back to the newest addition to their house.

“This is my house and it’s also going to be your house now Yukhei. Do you want to come and sit down and we can talk and maybe have something to eat before I ask my husband Kun to bring the boys in?” Sicheng waited patiently for an answer, knowing that Yukhei had recently been removed from less than ideal circumstances and was having some trouble with communication.

“It’s okay if you want to stay there but how about you take your shoes off and put them on the rack by the door and then we can talk. You can tell me about the things you like.”

Yukhei didn’t move at first, watching Sicheng with wary eyes and jumping slightly when there was a small crash from upstairs followed by a hurried assurance from Kun that nothing was broken. It was easy to see that the boy was far from comfortable but Sicheng couldn’t help but find him adorable, huddled on the bottom step in his parka with a blue scarf wrapped snugly around the bottom half of his face and floppy dark hair falling into his eyes. He was the epitome of childlike innocence and Sicheng had to mentally remind himself not to hug to boy and frighten him even more.

He and Kun had discussed the idea of fostering extensively and after two successful adoptions they’d come to the conclusion that they had more than enough space and love to welcome another child into their home. The idea had garnered varying responses from their boys; Chenle seemed happy with the idea but neither Sicheng nor Kun were entirely sure that he actually understood what they were talking about. Renjun on the hand, had met the suggestion with a stout refusal and a tantrum every time the subject was brought up there after. They’d told both boys that Yukhei would be coming home that day and Renjun had said nothing, choosing to scowl accusatorily at Kun who had been bewildered by shouldering the full blame from their eldest child. Chenle was in an unusually good mood but that could be attributed to the fact that he’d eaten half a bag of sugar before Sicheng had managed to find and stop him that morning rather than his being excited about the upcoming event.

“What do you think Yukhei? Do you think you could like it here?” Sicheng continued, aiming to show the boy that he wasn’t bothered by his lack of response and that he wasn’t just going to give up on him.

“It’s clean and nice.” Yukhei muttered, so quiet that Sicheng almost missed it completely but the words drew an easy-going smile from him, happy that the child was actually choosing to respond with minimal prompting on his part.

“I’m glad. Do you want to take your coat and scarf off? Let me know if you start getting too warm okay?” The visible parts of Yukhei’s face had begun to take on a slight red tinge which alerted Sicheng to the fact that he was, in fact, getting a little too warm the way he was bundled up.

Instead of answering, Yukhei stumbled to his feet and began unwinding the scarf from his neck as carefully as he could, carefully folding it in his hands after doing so and making sure that no part of it ever touched the floor. It was clear that he treasured the item when he turned and laid it gently on the step he’d previously been sitting on before working on the zip of his coat. Once both items had been removed and placed neatly together, Yukhei turned once again as though he was going to address Sicheng, only to stare quietly instead of actually initiating any type of conversation.

“Do you want to meet the others?” Sicheng asked, knowing that Kun must be having a difficult time keeping both the boys upstairs by that point and wanting to get the first meeting out of the way as quickly as possible so they could move on with getting to know each other.

Yukhei looked unsure, his eyebrows furrowing as he reached up to brush the hair out of his eyes for the second time since taking his coat off. “How many?” he asked, glancing towards the stairs briefly before making eye contact with Sicheng for the first time since he’d been picked up two hours earlier and waiting for an answer.

Sicheng held out a hand, beckoning the boy closer and holding out his other hand so he could count on his fingers to make it easier on the boy. “Well there’s me, you’ve already met me but you can call me Sicheng or Winwin, that’s what my friends call me.” He added the last bit in a conspiratorial tone, hoping to calm Yukhei’s nerves at least a little bit. It worked, the young boy’s eyes crinkled at the edges as he smiled wildly, exposing several missing teeth and momentarily putting Sicheng at ease.

“Then there’s my husband Kun,” he added, raising another finger to indicate the number of people he’d mentioned so far so that Yukhei wouldn’t get lost along the way. “He’s a softie and he makes the best cakes in the world which is why I keep him around.” Sicheng’s heart warmed when Yukhei’s eyes lit up at the mention of cake, glad the boy was already acting so much less reserved even if it was only with himself.

“Let’s see… we also have Renjun, he’s seven years old, which is one year younger than you. He’s my oldest son and he can be a bit moody but he’s a very sweet boy and he loves his brother the most. Last is Chenle, he’s six years old and the baby of the family. Chenle is really excited to meet you, he was telling me yesterday how much he wanted to play with you all day.” He held up two more fingers and watched as Yukhei mouthed the numbers to himself while repeating words that Sicheng had just used to describe each of his family members as he considered the information he’d been provided with.

“They’re here?” He double checked, glancing towards the stairs again as though he expected them to pot up at moment when he wasn’t watching.

“They’re right upstairs, I can call them when you’re ready.” Sicheng confirmed and Yukhei seemed to relax immediately when he realised that he had full control of the situation, something which he’d likely not expected to be given.

“I want to meet them,” the young boy stated, pushing the hair out of his eyes again and moving closer to Sicheng even as he the adult moved closer to the stairs and called for the others to descend. There was a shrieking noise from upstairs followed by Chenle giggling hysterically as Kun swept the youngest boy up into his arms and made his way down, Renjun trailing behind hesitantly.

Leading them all into the living room but never taking his eyes off of Yukhei, Sicheng made sure everyone was comfortable before beginning introductions. Kun was on the loveseat with a squirming Chenle in his lap and a gloomy-looking Renjun slouched at his side and Sicheng was on the couch, making sure to leave some distance between himself and Yukhei so that the younger boy wouldn’t feel crowded or trapped.

“Boys, this is Yukhei and he’s going to be staying with us for some time. Do you want to introduce yourselves?”   
Ignoring Chenle’s giggling at the fact that Kun had been included in ‘boys’ even though he was daddy, Sicheng gestured to his husband to start the introductions.

“Hi there Yukhei buddy, I’m Kun. I’ll bet that Sicheng’s already told you about my famous chocolate cake, hasn’t he?” Yukhei’s mouth had dropped open in awe at the word ‘famous’ and Kun was grinning proudly at being able to elicit such a positive reaction upon their first meeting when he’d been preparing himself for the worst.

“Hi,” was Yukhei’s murmured response but Sicheng noted that he didn’t seem to be as nervous as he had been when they’d first entered the room. He perpetuated the greeting with a tiny wave that made Sicheng and Kun want to coo at how precious it was.

“Your name’s Yukhei? That’s a cool name!” Chenle burst out, clearly forgetting that he’d been told that exact information just the day before in the excitement of the gathering. “I have lots of toys that I can share with you! But you have to promise not to put the legos in your mouth because that’s danger-ous.” The youngest boy obviously wasn’t aware that the particular rule only really applied to him because of his peculiar habit of putting everything in his mouth, that he’d yet to grow out of.

Yukhei looked bewildered by the enthusiastic greeted but he greeted back never the less.

“Yeah, I’m Yukhei Wong, spelt like this,” and he began drawing the Hanja in the air with shaky hand movements while Chenle watched enraptured.

Renjun wasn’t quite as enamoured with their new guest, promptly standing from his seat and scowling at Sicheng from across the room. “I don’t want him. We don’t need him!” The younger boy exclaimed, not checking his parent’s reaction before turning tail and stomping out of the room. (Something he knew he would get in trouble for later because that had a rule in their house that they had to talk through their problems whenever there was one instead of letting it get out of hand.)

Yukhei had visibly drawn back into himself after the exclamation and Sicheng sighed, aware that they should probably leave it there for now and let the new boy have some time to adjust to his surroundings before trying to force him to interact with all of the houses occupants.

Well that went well, he thought wryly to himself, guiding Yukhei out of the room and towards the stairs to show him his room despite Chenle’s vocal demands for them to not take his friend away.

They’d try again later after having a chat with Renjun. The last thing that wanted was for their eldest son to feel like his opinion wasn’t valued or that his voice wasn’t being heard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longer chapter than usual, I was gonna make it shorter but I felt like everything here needed to be included in this particular chapter for Yukhei's introduction to flow smoothly.
> 
> So we have a new character! For those of you that don't know Yukhei Wong, he's an undebuted and unrevealed SMROOKIE who's often spotted with Kun and Ten (He was spotted just 2 days ago with Kun at the airport!) He's a '99 liner so he's gonna be the same age as Mark in this fic.
> 
> Let is know what you thought of the addition of Yukhei!
> 
> Comments and Kudos are always greatly appreciated as usual!~~
> 
> -Llama


	9. Surprise!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A surprise party for Jisung and Doyoung.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Relevant ages for chapter:  
> Age 2: Jisung
> 
> Age 3: Chenle
> 
> Age 4: Jaemin, Jeno, Donghyuck, Renjun
> 
> Age 5: Mark

"Jaehyun actually volunteered to look after Jeno, that's....not normal" Doyoung mumbled to himself as he bounced a laughing Jisung in his tired arms, he wouldn't put him down though, it was the boys birthday so he was going to be treated like a prince.

"He's probably planning a surprise party for Jisungie" He continued mumbling to himself, looking at the row of brightly coloured toys, he felt quite sour that his lover didn't even bother to tell him but quickly shrugged it off, smiling down at the bumbling toddler in his arms.

"Which one do you want Jisungie?" he asked as he showed the boy a selection of different toys, the young boys eyes were wide in amazement as he saw what seemed to be millions (closer to hundreds, bless Jisung) of toys that he could pick from, honestly what did he do to have such an amazing dad?

Looking as his dad carried him through the aisles, he yelled loudly when he saw a bright yellow ball, a giant Green dinosaur on the front. It was perfect, he was sure it had been made just for him. Pointing at the ball he called his dad's attention. "That one! That one!"

Doyoung smiled at the boy before looking at the ball, the smile instantly faltering as he saw the monstrosity in front of him. The 'dinosaur' looked like it could have been drawn by Yuta, meaning it didn't look much like a dinosaur at all.

"Baby, are you sure you want that one?" Jisung nodded enthusiastically, not noticing his father's obvious dismay at the chosen item. Sighing, Doyoung picked the ball up and put it in the basket.

An hour and several dinosaur toys later they were finally ready to pay, looking down at the basked Doyoung almost cried at the amount of toys inside, he was pretty sure his son picked up every single thing with a dinosaur in the whole store, he was just too weak to say no to the boy. (OTL <\-----Doyoung)

He quickly paid for the toys and took the boy out to the car park, placing him on the ground and taking his hand after he started squirming. They reached the car fast, Doyoung placing the toddler in his car seat and strapping him in before taking the bags to the boot, and finally entering the car so they could leave. Honestly he just wanted to go home, dinosaur shopping was exhausting and he was hoping he wouldn't have to do it again until Christmas (at which time he'll force Jaehyun to go for him).

The car journey was quiet as Jisung promptly fell asleep, leaving Doyoung in the company of the radio which he hummed along to, mindful not to wake the sleeping toddler behind him. In comparison to the time it took to shop, it only took ten minutes for him to reach their home, he debated whether or not he actually wanted to go in there, he was sure that Jeno and Jaehyun had made a mess and he wasn't looking forward to cleaning it up.

After a few seconds he decided to just face the inevitable, he got out of the car and grabbed the bags from the boot before getting Jisung from the car seat, waking the boy up calmly now rather than having him scared awake when they entered. Upon reaching the door he reached loud noises from within, sighing he unlocked the door. The first sight he was met by was a hanging only partially to the ceiling, he was sure it was saying happy birthday to him and Jisung but it was heavily smudged so he wasn't sure.

The living room was chaos. He could see his husband and son standing at opposite sides of the room glaring at each other as they each held a decoration is their hands. Yuta was trying to wrap presents but was having a hard time as Donghyuck and Jaemin were taking it from his hands and straight from the presents that he had already wrapped (rather messily in Doyoung's opinion). Looking around some more he spotted Mark sitting in the corner with Chenle, pointing at things in the book and then explaining them, although Doyoung was pretty sure he was making it up as he was talking about stars but the book was about sea life. Stepping in the room, he coughed loudly as the adults in the room all froze and turned to look at him, while Renjun continued to draw on the walls with the neon pink crayon in chocolate covered hands.

Taeil and Taeyong came out from the kitchen, snickering when they saw the mess the others had managed to make in the living room.

"Surprise?" Hansol called from the floor where he was covered in glitter, no doubt Chenle fault considering he was also cover head-to-toe in the sparkly decoration. Doyoung rolled his eyes. "Please tell you guys are going to clean this up, 'cause I'm not going to" he said as he placed Jisung onto the floor, the toddler stumbling over to Jeno, who dropped the decoration he was holding in favour of hugging his brother, placing a sloppy kiss on the young boys forehead as he did so.

Jaehyun then opted to drop his decoration also, putting his arms out as e approached the older male. Doyoung rolled his eyes but allowed himself to be pulled into a hug. "Happy belated birthday" the younger man whispered into his ear. 'Get a room' Kun jokingly called across the room, his hand resting on the balloon pump from where he had been trying to blow up the ~~blasted~~ colourful things before Doyoung had interrupted. "This is my room" Doyoung called back.

"Wow that's a lot of dinosaurs" turning behind him, Doyoung saw Sicheng sitting on the floor, riffling through the bags of Jisung's present, Yuta soon joining him.

"What is this supposed to be?" Sicheng asked, lifting the ugly yellow dinosaur ball up. Yuta looked at it before bursting out laughing "It looks like something Doyoung would draw" he managed between giggles. Doyoung huffed before quickly firing back "Really? You were the first _thing_ I thought of when I saw it".

"Okay" Taeil interrupted before they could start arguing. "Let's just agree that you both have terrible and that you would even be about to draw what was on the ball if you tried" he said as he coolly walked back into the kitchen, dragging a laughing Taeyong with him.

Looking around the room Kun noticed how much mess they had make (and were still making in the case of the children). "Well didn't go as we planned it but ay least it was a surpise, right?"

Doyoung grinned, agreeing to the Chinese man. If he were to be honest he would have been more surprised if the party gone well, but that was all part of what made it special, after all it had been like this ever since they all met when they were just young teenagers.

It was a good day, even with that ugly dinosaur ball around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Belated birthday chapter for Jisung and Doyoung.


	10. Growing Pains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relevant Ages for this chapter:
> 
> Mark - 12 Years Old  
> Jisung - 10 Years Old

“Mark, don’t walk away from me! Care to explain why I’ve had yet another call from your teacher about you not showing up to class?” Ten’s enquiry went mostly ignored as Mark stormed passed him, marching up the stairs and promptly shutting himself in his room in lieu of making any form of polite conversation.

From the bottom of the stairs, Ten wondered briefly what had happened in the past year to turn his son into such a spoiled brat.

“He still won’t talk?” Johnny inquired offhandedly, poking his head out of the kitchen with a tea towel slung over one shoulder and his sleeves rolled up to the elbows. “He’ll come around, just let him cool down for a while. Mark’s a good kid, he’s just having a hard time right now.”

\--

Mark trudged down the stairs almost three hours later, running a hand through his already unruly dyed-blonde hair and throwing a hand over his mouth to poorly conceal a yawn. He wasn’t really supposed to sleep after school because it usually meant that he wouldn’t sleep properly when he was actually supposed to but he’d been tired and fed-up with the day when he’d arrived home and falling into bed was the easiest option when it came to dealing with the pent up emotions.

“Dad,” He murmured simply, shuffling into the room and latching himself to Johnny’s waist with a small whine that he hoped telepathically conveyed his immediate need for dinner to be ready.

“Hey bud, you feeling better now?” Johnny inquired, amused at Mark’s one hundred and eighty degree mood shift from that afternoon. “Hmmm,” The boy hummed noncommittally in return, still unwilling to talk about his day no matter how much better he might have been feeling after his sleep.

“Well why don’t you go and wash up? You’re dad’s just finishing up with dinner and Jisung is here so why don’t you at least run a brush through your hair?” Johnny didn’t actually care much for how his twelve year old son decided to present himself at the dinner table but Ten likely wouldn’t be happy if he walked into the kitchen after having obviously just woken up from a nap.

“Why’s squirt here?” Was Mark’s sleepy response, already turning to shuffle out of the room and try and make himself slightly more presentable for their company. It wasn’t like it was anything out of the ordinary for Jaehyun and Doyoung’s youngest son to grace their dinner table but it didn’t stop the preteen from asking for a reason.

“The usual, he fought with Jeno and no amount of convincing will have him believing that his parents aren’t on their older son’s side. Plus, he just seems to genuinely like our company and it’s not like we’d ever turn him away.”

Mark wasn’t really listening to the explanation, already too busy trailing back out up the stairs in search of the fabled ‘hairbrush’. It wasn’t that he didn’t care for his appearance but Mark’s brain was firmly in ‘eat’ mode and doing anything else required a little too much brain power for him at that moment.

“Was that Mark?” Ten asked, walking out of the kitchen with a smiling Jisung in tow. They’d just finished with dinner and Johnny was quick to assure that their son would be back momentarily and hadn’t decided to boycott dinner in favour of more sleep.

“Yep and he’s in a better mood now as well although you should have seen his hair when he came down, it was a disaster, you’d think he’d never seen a hairbrush in his life.” Johnny chuckled, winding an arm around his smaller husband’s waist and pulling him in for a kiss which left Jisung pulling faces in the background.

“This is slander,” Mark commented from the doorway, having returned when neither of them were paying attention (thankfully his hair looked less like he’d stuck his finger in a plug socket now). “I have to deal with annoying people at school and then I come home to my parents, who are supposed to love me unconditionally, ridiculing my hair like a couple of teenagers.”

There was no real upset In his tone and Johnny smirked at the overdramatic pout that was playing on Mark’s lips. “Maybe we’d be less likely to laugh if you didn’t spend at least half your life looking like a packet of uncooked ramen noodles. I mean really, whose idea was it for you to dye your hair blonde and get that ridiculous perm?” 

Ten hit Johnny’s arm in scolding but all of them could see the laughter he was holding in at the statement.

“You look fine darling, come and sit down and we can finally eat something. I take it you don’t want to talk about school?” The four of them made their way towards the table, seating themselves comfortably around it and piling food onto their plates. “Not really,” Mark shrugged, the words coming out distorted around a mouthful of lettuce but both parents got the message.

“Hey Mark Hyung! You’re smart, can you help me with my English homework? I asked Jeno but he told me to go and bother someone else and dads won’t help because I’m not important enough.” Jisung piped up, wiping his mouth with his napkin and turning large, sparkling eyes on Mark.

“Sure squirt, bring it to me when we’re done eating,” Mark sighed, taking the preferred option of helping Jisung over having to make a start on any of his own homework (none of which would be difficult enough to actually trouble him but he liked to ignore it on principle.)

“Okay boys, you can talk homework after we’re done eating and don’t forget to call your dad and let him know what time you’ll be home Jisung.” Ten commented, noting the way that both boys had stopped eating in favour of continuing their conversation.

Twin chimes of “Yes dad,” and “Yes Ten Hyung!” sounded back at him as the boys began eating again and Ten found himself glad that they’d made it through another night without any major incidents, (He was going to have to talk to Mark about his attitude earlier in the day but he figured that he’d leave that until Jisung had been sent home and the older boy was getting ready for bed.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya Guys! Llama here, I'm finally back after recovering (mostly) from the flu. Not much happens in this chapter but I hope you enjoy it none the less!
> 
> Pandi and I are considering writing a second series like this one, except it's about the parents when they were teenagers (It would just be a non-chronological one-shot series again) but would you guys be interested in reading that sort of thing?
> 
> Also, in this story, Yuta's sister is Sorn from CLC (Like they were siblings in Idol Party) and she'll likely be cameo'ed in a later chapter, so that's something to look forward to!
> 
> Comments and Kudos are always greatly appreciated! Let us know if there are any scenarios you'd like to see and with which characters!
> 
> Find Me @HansoldMS_Twt   
> and Pandi @FindJiHansol on Twitter!


	11. Banana Bread and Anything Edible

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WinKun's house is full and Chenle still eats anything and everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Relevant ages for chapter:
> 
> Jisung: 6
> 
> Chenle: 7
> 
> Jaemin: 8
> 
> Jeno: 8
> 
> Renjun: 8
> 
> Donghyuck: 8
> 
> Yukhei: 9
> 
> Mark: 9

"No running on the stairs!"

Sicheng shook his head as Kun hovered worriedly at the bottom of the stairs as the two young boys ran, ignoring the older man's calls as they rushed up the stairs. Kun sighed in relief as they reached the top in one piece, promptly disappearing down the hallway at the top, the loud bang of a door signalling they had reached their destination.

Slowly, Kun walked back into the kitchen and towards his cake batter. Sicheng ignored the older man, opting instead to drink his coffee while reading a Chinese gossip magazine. "How many am I making this for?" Kun asked, not sure how many of the children they were accommodating for at that time.

"Five" Sicheng answered easily not even looking up from the story about the messy break up between two young celebrities he was reading. Kun hummed in acknowledgement as he went to gather more ingredients. "I'll make enough for eight then" the older man said to himself, there was a good chance a few more of them would show up when they realise that the majority of the boys were already here.

As if on cue the doorbell rang, Sicheng rolling his eyes good naturedly as he stood up and opened the door, the smell of banana hitting his nose as soon as he did. Jeno and Jisung stood at the door, the older of the two holding what looked to be freshly baked bread. Sicheng took the peace offering from the boys and quickly herded them inside, the two saying a polite hello to the parents before heading upstairs.

Sicheng laughed as he watched them rush up the stairs, much like how Donghyuck and Jaemin had only a few minutes before. "Jae and Doyoung sent a gift" Sicheng said, lifting up what Sicheng had identified as banana bread, showing Kun the 'gift' proudly, the older man laughing as the smug look on his husbands face. "Well I guess the kids are only to be on a sugar high" Kun responded, cringing slighting thinking of the earful he knew he was going to get from Taeil when an overly hyper Donghyuck returned home later. 

"Meh, we'll just blame Doyoung if that happens" Sicheng said as he placed the treat onto the counter before returning to his 'entertainment'. 

"Why Doyoung?" Kun asked, looking up from the red cake mix- he had decided to cook red velvet cake as he knew that it was one of Yukhei's favourites. 

"Please, we all know that Jae didn't cook that. He had that modelling job today, he's been going on about it all week. Also banana bread? That just screams Doyoungie" Kun nodded as his husbands mocking explanation, it did make sense.

The two sat in a comfortable silence as Kun continued to prepare his treat, the silence was soon broken by Jisung's shout of "Chenle you can't eat that!" Sicheng sprung up from his seat, rushing out of the room and up the stairs faster than any Olympic champion could. He quickly barged into his youngest son's room, skidding to the floor and taking the anthurium leaf from the young boy's hands. Sighing in relief, he lay down on the floor next to the now pouting child. 

"Uncle Sicheng, why are you on the floor?" Jaemin asked, the young boy standing in the doorway, a snapback held in his hands as he looked at the older man sprawled out on the floor. Sicheng shrugged and spread his body out on the floor like a starfish, leaf still in hand. "You know just making sure my child doesn't eat something he shouldn't" he told the boy. "Are you going somewhere, and is that a new snapback?" he asked, observing the boys clothing. Jaemin would usually leave his jacket and hat (whichever one he had at the time) in Yukhei or Renjun's room until he was leaving. 

"Yep" not bothering to elaborate but stepping forward and proudly showing the hat that Yuta had ~~given to him~~ left out and he had taken. Sicheng gave a thumbs up in approval, Jaemin laughing happily at the gesture. "So where are you going?" Sicheng asked as he sat up, ruffling his hair as Chenle watched enviously. Noticing this the man pulled his youngest son into a hug, Jaemin and Jisung laughing as the young boy tried to squirm out of his grasps. 

"I'm going ice skating with Mark hyung and Uncle Johnny" Jaemin finally answered Sicheng's question when Chenle had settled down, the youngest Chinese boy laying in his father's lap, a smiling Jisung sitting next to them.

"Well Kun is cooking cake so make sure you come back here later with Mark so you can eat it with us, okay?" Jaemin agreed happily. 

"Hello" 

Turning towards the door, Sicheng saw Mark standing there, he hadn't heard the door go signally the boy's arrival but shrugged it off. 

"Hi Mark, you here to collect Jaemin?" The older boy nodded, he quickly grabbed Jaemin's hand. Sicheng wanted to coo at the scene but didn't want to embarrass the boys. "Well, have fun ice skating, you can tell me and Uncle Kun all about it when you get back" the boys nodded before leaving the room. 

Sicheng turned towards the other two boys. "How about you come downstairs and help Kun make the cake" Jisung cheered in agreement. "At least everything down there is edible" Sicheng muttered under his breath as he watched the two hop up and run out of the room. "Don't run on the stairs!" he called after them only to be answered by high pitched laughs and thumping steps as they boys went down stairs to ~~torment~~ help Kun.


	12. Playing Favourites

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relevant ages for this chapter:
> 
> Jaemin - 2 Months Old

“He won’t stop crying!” Yuta whined, rocking the 2 month old Jaemin in his arms and sounding like he’d quite like to start crying himself. Hansol didn’t look amused, arms crossed over his chest as he observed the pair of them from the other side of the room. 

“He’s a baby, that’s kind of what they do if you hadn’t noticed.” Yuta looked far from amused at the retort, shifting the squirming infant into his left arm so that he could flip his husband the bird to accompany the scowl that betrayed his annoyance at the situation.

“Thanks for your oh so helpful words of wisdom Hansol, how about you do something useful like making him a bottle instead of making sarcastic comments?”

For a moment, the two stood at an impasse, neither moving as they glared at each other from opposing sides of the room before Hansol huffed and marched out of the room to do as he’d been told.

Yuta grinned down at the baby, a feat in itself considering he’d been crying for over an hour now, and tickled his tummy. “Your daddy is being silly, isn’t he Jaemin? Yes he is,” he cooed, glad that none of his friends were there to see it because he knew that they’d never let him live it down. Jaemin stared, thankfully no longer crying and Yuta had to wonder if all it took to calm him down was talking in a silly voice and pulling funny faces. If so, why hadn’t he thought to try that earlier?

“See, this parenting thing isn’t so hard,” Hansol commented offhandedly, handing the bottle he’d been holding to Yuta only after having tested the temperature against his wrist to ensure that it wasn’t too hot.

“You say that but I’m pretty sure I count on my hands the amount of times you’ve actually held him since we brought him home. It’s like you’re afraid of him or something.” Yuta retorted, raising his eyebrows at Hansol as he tilted the bottle so that Jaemin could drink from it easily but not too fast.

Hansol averted his eyes momentarily, heat rising to cheeks at being called out. “I’m not scared of him, it’s just that I—uh… He’s so tiny—I might drop him and besides, you’re the only one that can get him to stop crying once he starts.” Yuta grinned at his husband’s stuttered explanation, the weak protests were too adorable to ignore.

“He’d probably stop crying for you too, if you stood closer than 10 feet away when he started and I’m just as likely to drop him as you are, statistically speaking, but does he seem any worse for wear to you?” The words were coaxing and gentle but some of their sincerity was lost due to the mocking look that occupied that shorter man’s features.

“I’m not sure that I really want to try my luck just yet,” Hansol offered, taking a step back as he spoke to show just how against the idea he was but for every step he took, Yuta took one forward, being careful not to jostle Jaemin who was still peacefully drinking from the now half-empty bottle.

“I think our little Jaemin needs some quality time with his daddy once he’s finished eating so that I can take a bath and sort through those files for the shop.” It was phrased like a suggestion but Yuta’s tone of voice told Hansol that it was anything but and he felt his shoulders droop, already giving in without bothering to try and put up a fight.

“Fine but if he hates me then I’m holding you personally responsible,” Hansol sighed, instinctively folding his arms into the correct position to receive the content infant when Yuta offered him.

“See! You’re a natural. I swear, one day you’ll be his favourite parent and I’ll be the one complaining about him hating me. He should go down for a nap pretty soon and we’re expecting Taeil in about an hour to drop of some design ideas for the new toys.” Yuta was already out of the room and halfway to the stairs by the time he’d finished speaking, no doubt in his mind that Hansol would have no trouble with Jaemin once he was forced to actually spend some quality time with him.

“We’ll see about that,” Hansol muttered, the response more of a sarcastic comment to himself than something he actually expected his husband to hear.

Jaemin gurgled happily none the less, reaching up and curling his fingers in a repetitive grabbing motion that made Hansol wonder what he actually after. “You want daddy?” He cooed, reaching out a finger and watching in awe as the baby curled his own tiny fingers around it. It wasn’t the first time he’d done it but Hansol found himself just as proud as the first time every time it happened.

“Daddy’s right here.”

From the hall, his back pressed against the wall, Yuta smiled softly and turned his back to finally get on with his work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Llama here! This chapter is fairly short but I wanted to write something about when the kids were first adopted and I think it turned out really cute! (Also, I wanted the write the Yusolmin family considering Pandi has only written their chapters so far XD)
> 
> Comments and Kudos are always greatly appreciated! Let us know what you thought!
> 
> Find us on Twitter! @HansoldMS_Twt (Llama) and @FindJiHansol (Pandi)


	13. New Hobby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> This chapter is up slightly later than usual (which Lala was not happy about) but I hope you enjoy.
> 
> One of the requests was for more Johnten (+Mark) so here it is. We are listening to the requests we are just getting through them slowly, they will be done ^.^
> 
> If you enjoyed please leave a comment and kudos ^.^

"What time is it?" Ten asked, watching the eggs carefully with Johnny's weight draped over him, the taller man still half asleep and cuddly.

 

"Some time just after seven" Johnny muttered, warm breath ghosting over Ten's shoulder. Ten hummed in acknowledgement, flipping the eggs and shrugging his husband off his shoulder. Johnny huffed but moved away from his busy lover, slipping himself onto a chair and resting his head on the table.

"Minhyung usually down here by now".

A loud thump was heard at the bottom of the stairs seconds before a flash of white and blue flashed past the kitchen and into the living room. "There he is" The words came out muffled as the older man didn't bother to lift his head.

Ten rolled his eyes as he placed the finished eggs onto a plate and placed it in front of his husband, the taller man sitting up properly to eat.

"Mark! Breakfast is ready".

He heard grumbling before he saw the grumpy boy walk into the room, sitting down at the table and eating his food. Johnny smiled at the young boy who ignored him in favour of eating his food. Ten joined them at the table, his own plate of food in hand as he sat down. "What made you rush around young man?" Johnny asked, observing the young boy eating his food as quickly as possible, patting his back when he started to cough. "Slow down, whatever it is will still be there when you finished eating" Ten said, concerned about his son choking on the breakfast he had made.

"Skaters, I want to watch the skaters" Mark said quickly before he resumed shoving the food into his mouth.

"Skater? Like ice skating or roller skating?"

"Ice. They are on TV and I wanna see"

Ten sighed as he watched his son finish the rest of his food. "Drink your milk before you go...actually just take it with you and drink it nicely...I would rather you keep it down" he decided unhappily, mumbling the last part which Johnny heard, the older man covering his mouth to stop himself from laughing at his displeased husband.

Mark nodded before climbing from his chair and running back to the living room, glass of milk held not so carefully as he went.

"He's gonna to spill that somewhere, I guarantee it" Johnny spoke cockily, dodging the hand that Ten swiped at him as he escaped the kitchen leaving the mess for Ten to clear up.

 

"First I make breakfast, now I have to clean it all up. I did not get married for this" he muttered under his breath as he picked up the plates on the table and put them in the sink, he had no intention on cleaning them Johnny would do it whether he liked it or not.

 

Walking into the living room he saw Mark perched onto the edge of the sofa, bum barely on the seat as he watched the male skater on screen with baited breath. Ten went and next to the wide-eyed boy, ignoring Johnny when the elder male pat the seat next to him. "Who's skating right now?" Ten asked, he honestly didn't know any skaters other than the famed Kim Yuna so he wouldn't recognise any names his son told him, but wanted to show the boy that he was interested in whatever it was he liked. He had to watch it either way so he might as well try and understand it.

 

"It's Patrick Chan, he's not my favourite but I like him too. He's not doing as well as usual but he should still rank highly".

"Since when did you know so much about ice skating?" Ten asked, impressed with what the seven year old was telling him.

 

"I read about it at school, then I watched videos at home".

"There he goes again, our smart boy" Johnny said proudly.

"I'm not smart, I'm average the same as all of the other kids at school. Now be quiet I almost missed the quad he just did".

Johnny put his arms up in surrender, not understanding what the boy was talking about as he, like Ten, had no clue about skating.

They stayed like this for the next half an hour, Ten turning off the TV once the show had finished. "Now that's done, have you thought of that extracurricular activity you want to do? The school wants to know" he asked, distaste in his voice at the thought of the school trying to tell him what to do. He never was good with authority figures...in fact none of them were, especially with Doyoung's dad being the chief of police when they were growing up, they had gotten away with so much that they didn't really have to worry about authority figures.

"I want to do ice skating"

"Really buddy? That's quite a difficult sport..."

"You said I could pick any one, I want to do ice skating".

"What about a reading club or something?" Johnny tried again but stopped when Mark gave him the look.

"Okay ice skating it is!" Ten quickly added, sensing that there was no changing his mind...for now at least.

 

"We'll sort out the lessons and talk to your school, would that be good?" Ten asked stroking his hair lightly, Mark nodded his head giving his father a big smile before leaving the room.


	14. Sharing is Caring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When one child has something, it is almost guaranteed that the others will share it.  
> or   
> Mark gets chicken pox but his not the only one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Relevant ages for chapter:
> 
> Mark: 5
> 
> Jeno, Donghyuck, Jaemin: 4

Having an automatic alarm clock in the form of a crying five year old shaking him awake was not something that Ten was used to, but none the less that was exactly how he was greeted first thing in the morning. He groaned as he sat up, Johnny still laying blissfully asleep next to him. He frowned but kicked the older man awake who jolted awake, his eyes wide in confusion when he heard the crying coming from beside their bed.

 

Ten pulled Mark onto the bed, stroking his hair as he tried to ask the young boy what was wrong. Mark sniffed and scratched his sore looking arm. "It's itchy" he said, as he continued to scratch his abused arm. Johnny quickly reassured the boy, pulling his hand away from his arm to inspect it, his eyes squinting.

"Maybe he had a rash" The older man speculated, Ten looked at the boy worriedly, he couldn't think of anything that could have brought a rash on. "I don't know, let me have a look". He moved his blotchy eyed son in front of him, grabbing a tissue to wipe the snot off his face before looking at the offending injury.

"I don't think it's a rash, looks like our little Mark's got chicken pox" the younger male murmured as he turned the arm to see the small red dots which seemed to be appearing. "He'll be fine, we just need to get him some cream and let the others know we can't come round for lunch" Johnny nodded as they both climbed out of bed, the taller of the two picking up there still visibly upset child to comfort him.

"Hey on the bright side you won't have to go to school today" Johnny said in attempt to cheer the younger man up. It worker as the heard the younger boy let out a happy sound which was slightly mumbled as he had his has buried in the side of his dad's neck.

Johnny had just put Mark down on one of the dining table chairs when he heard the bell of the door. He quickly ruffled Mark's hair and went to answer the door. Opening he was met by a slightly frazzled looking Jaehyun who was holding Jeno. The younger man smiled tiredly. "Ten said Mark had come down with the chicken pox? Jeno had too so we needed to move him before he infected Jisung, is it okay if we stay here?" Jaehyun asked hopefully. Johnny smiled, stepping back slightly to let his friend in, the younger returning the smile with an appreciative one of his own.

"Hey Jeno, since both you and Mark can't go to school how about you guys play together?" Jeno looked up and nodded, squirming in his dad's hold in a silent command to be let go. Jaehyun lowered the younger boy to the floor, Jeno looked at Johnny for a few seconds before the older man understood and told him Mark was in the kitchen. Jeno sped off without saying anything, eager to find his Mark hyung.

Johnny and Jaehyun followed the youngest boy into the kitchen. Ten smiled at them from where he was attempting to make breakfast. "From what I've heard Donghyuck and Jaemin have it as well, they'll probably be around in a while" Ten said as he flipped an egg, Jaehyun grimaced at the browning colouring he saw and moved to go and save his Thai friend from his own cooking something he hoped young Mark wouldn't inherit.

The two families eat breakfast fairly fast before moving the boys upstairs. Ten looked at the tidy room of his son, mentally noting to set out more bedding for the three boys who would no doubt end up sleeping here tonight to save trouble. Johnny walked into the doorway of the room, smiling at the two boys who were 'playing' on the floor (which was more like Mark throwing his building bricks and watching in amusement as Jeno went and picked them back, placing them neatly back on the floor). Donghyuck and Jaemin stood behind them rushing into the room when they saw their two friends were having fun without them.

Johnny came to Ten's side and hugged him. "Sicheng said that Renjun and Chenle both appear fine right now so they won't be coming round. The others have work so they couldn't stay but Taeil and Yuta will be round later" Ten nodded as he watched the boys play.

"They really share everything, don't they?"

"Yep, unfortunately sickness is included. We're lucky not everyone got sick otherwise the house would be crowded" Ten said as he laughed. Johnny shook his head. "If that was the case we would just go other to Kun and Sicheng's, there house is bigger" a cheeky smile adorned his handsome has as he winked at his lover. Ten rolled his eyes buy nodded his head in agreement. "That would have been good, at least then we would have Kun our master chef here".

The few days involved a look of crying, medicine for the chicken pox, refusal to sleep and an unhealthy amount of ice-cream, something that Taeil would have surely killed them for if he found out, but the children were soon feeling better and went back home without a fuss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, It's Pandi! 
> 
> So we're finally back from our longish hiatus and I'm happy to be writing this again. We'll start writing chapters based on the children's teenage years soon as well as continuing writing them young. ^.^  
> The story will be separate but we'll make it part of a series so it is easy to find ^.^


	15. This Is Mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Jaemin's 7th birthday and he gives his parents a nice surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Relevant ages for chapter:
> 
> Jaemin: 7

"It's that time of year again, are you ready?"

Hansol gulped as he thought about his wallet and nodded sadly as he turned the wheel of the car. "I guess it's time to buy presents for our son". Yuta pat his shoulder in sympathy. "At least we figured out how to get him to keep toys, it's just a longer process than most children".

"Have you any idea what sort of things he is likely to want to keep? I feel like we've owned one of everything by now, but even when he originally likes it he gets bored of the toy eventually and he gives it away, it's a cycle". Yuta thought about it for a second, nose scrunched cutely as he tried to remember what his son had shown interest in recently.

"Soft animal toys, slime, and anything with a weird texture".

Hansol nodded as they parked in a free space of a toy store. The older man looked up at the large building before turning to his husband. "Remind me again why we are shopping at a toy store that isn't yours when it would be cheaper to buy from the one you own". Yuta sighed. "Jaemin seemed to automatically know if the toy was from my company and will refuse it for whatever reason, it's safer to buy from a different place".

Hansol shook his head, already looking exhausted despite not even going into the toy store yet. "I guess we should get this over and done with".

"Stop being so mopey, you act as though we have no money. We both own companies that are doing exceptionally well".

"At this point I'm not sure how yours is, you always seem to be at home". Yuta looked insulted at that, glaring at the older male as he grabbed the trolley. "I can't believe you don't know how I work! I work from home and my personal assistant works at the company. In this new age of technology we are able to send things to each other online. I still go in for meetings weekly but Jaemin is my priority". Hansol nodded, ignoring the jab about technology and looking at Yuta apologetically.

Yuta rolled his eyes but reached for his lovers face and pulled him into a quick kiss before pulling back and continuing through the long aisles. They continued shopping for another half an hour before they had chosen a good selection. As they payed, Hansol sorrowfully down at his wallet. 

They got all the items home, hiding them in their room before Yuta went to go and collect their unloyal seven year old who was no doubt at Sicheng's again. 

Hansol sighed and started to wrap the presents. They had left the shopping until the day before the boy's birthday, he had a habit of finding things and losing them before they even had a chance to give them to him in the first place so they decided the closer to the day the better. 

He finished wrapping the presents quickly, putting them behind the clothes in their shared closet before walking in the living room. Yuta was sitting on the floor with Jaemin, a small car puzzle laid out in front of them. "Wow, did you do all this Jaemin?" Jaemin looked up at the sound of his voice and jumped up to give him a hug. "Appa! You won't guess what I did at school today" Hansol gasped and widened his eyes "what did you do?" 

Jaemin's eyes lit up as he laughed loudly. "I- I buried Mark in the sandpit at lunch time" he said, his giggling almost never stopping. Yuta laughed but encouraged the boy to continue despite already hearing about it at Sicheng's. 

"No way! All by yourself?" Hansol asked in fake disbelief. "No, Hyuck helped me! Mark just sat there and we forgot about him but then Mr Lee asked us where he was and guess what?" 

"What?" 

"We said we didn't know and they couldn't find him" Jaemin laughed out. Hansol shook his head, not at all surprise they had done similar things in the past. "Oh no! Did they ever find him?" 

"Of course! We wouldn't make Mark stay their all night, his are friend. Silly appa". Hansol nodded and apologised. "What was I thinking, your right". Jaemin giggled and sat back down in front of his puzzle.

 

**-:-:-:-:-:-**

 

"Daddy wake up" Jaemin shook Yuta awake, the man rubbed his eyes and pulled Jaemin down into a hug, the boy giggled and tried to escape. Yuta laughed and let go of the boy, telling him to wake up Hansol. He of course did it in style by jumping on the man who startled awake in pain. Hansol groaned and pulled Jaemin into his arms, smothering the young boy in kisses, Jaemin screamed excitedly and playfully fought against his Hansol hold, escaping successfully and jumping back onto the older man. 

"Happy Birthday Min" Hansol stood, grabbing the giggling boy. "Wow you're getting so big, one of these days I won't be able to carry you anymore". Jaemin whined and shook his head "you can and you have to". Hansol raised an eyebrow at this, oh I have to do I?" Jaemin nodded and Yuta laughed, finally getting out of bed. "I guess you'll forever be holding him, prince Jaemin is always right". Jaemin agreed and Yuta took him, huffing at the weight which made the young boy laugh.

"Should be unwrap some presents?" Yuta asked carrying the boy into the living room. Jaemin nodded, he liked the wrapping paper. "Great, shout to appa".

"APPA!"

"I'm coming!"

Hansol walking into the room, bag of presents in hand and placed them onto the floor in front of his son who was practically bouncing. Jaemin smiled and started ripping the wrapping paper from the presents, choosing to discard the presents to the side as he admired the colourful designs of the paper. 

"Jaemin you forgot one" Hansol picked up the last present from the floor and placed it into Jaemin's grabby hands. Jaemin quickly unwrapped it, Yuta and Hansol's eyes widening as the boy stared at the Platypus plushie. They had bought it as a joke but apparently it had been the best decision as they watched the boy hug it to his chest.

"Perry"

"Is that his name?" Jaemin nodded and held the plushie out in front of him. 

"Wait Perry? Like from Phineas and Ferb?" Jaemin nodded as he played with the soft toy.

"Did he just keep a toy without being tricked?" Yuta asked rubbing his eyes, Hansol pulled his hand so the younger wouldn't hurt his eyes but nodded. "I believe he did".

"Thank you" both parents turned towards their son, he gave them a toothy smiled as he pulled the toy close to his chest in a tight hug.


	16. Terrible Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chenle is going through a difficult stage but Kun and Sicheng aren't going to give up raising him well.

A shrill scream rang throughout the house.

Sicheng jumped up from his seat by the kitchen counter, Kun watching helplessly by the stove as he tried to cook breakfast. _**'I should have just made cereal'**_ he thought as he worriedly glanced in the direction of the stairs.

Sicheng ran up the stairs and into the room closest. Chenle laid on the floor crying as Renjun hovered over him, eyes teary and confused. Sicheng scooped the crying toddler off the floor, all the while patting Renjun's back to make sure his older son was calm and okay. 

"What's wrong? Did you hurt yourself?" he cooed at the child but received no response so he just bounced him up and down. "Renjun hunny, why don't you go down stairs? I'm sure your Bà would love some help with breakfast" the boy nodded but looked unsure, Sicheng sent him a cheerful smile which he returned and ran out the room. 

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" He felt Chenle shake his head against his neck and sighed, it was going to be a long day. 

"Are you hungry?" receiving no response he continued. "I know I'm super hungry, why don't we go downstairs and get something to eat, I think that will make us both happier". Chenle nodded and sniffled as he moved away from his dad's neck. "There we go, no more tears, you look way more handsome like this" Chenle gave him a toothy smile, his teeth were still growing in so it was gappy and Sicheng mentally reminded himself he'd need another dentist appointment soon. 

"Come on then little man, I think that I hear your Bà singing, we wouldn't want to miss the chance to hear it would we?" Chenle shook his head and pointed ahead "L-let's go~" Sicheng smiled and kissed the top of his sons head, heading out the room and down the stairs where they could hear Kun's singing.

"Bà sing sing song!" Chenle cheered as he entered the kitchen, still perched in Sicheng's arms. Kun smiled and put down the bowl he was holding. "There's my smiling angel" he cooed and took the boy from his lovers' arms, Chenle squealing excitedly. 

Sicheng felt a tug on his trousers, looking down he saw Renjun and quickly crouched down to match his height. "Junnie~ Did you help your Bà?" Renjun nodded, smiling when his dad praised him, pulling him up to carry him. "That's my smart boy. I bet breakfast will be extra good this morning now" Renjun clapped in agreement. 

"Okay let's get you in your chair" he put Renjun onto a chair and pushed him in, so he was close enough to eat his food well. He turned as Kun called him and took Chenle so the older male could dish up the breakfast. 

Chenle watched as they approached his high chair and started struggling, not happy. After bouncing him a few times he tried again but this time was also met with vocal objection from the boy. Sighing he looked at Kun who smiled and shrugged, not sure what to do. 

"Lele, it's time to eat. Let's get you into your chair, hmm?" Chenle looked at the food on the counter and shook his head. "No." 

"No?" Sicheng repeated, amused by the answer. 

"No."

"I guess Lele doesn't want breakfast" Chenle only nodded in agreement making Sicheng shake his head. "I guess daddy will just eat it all to himself. Lele won't be allowed any of Bà's food from now on". Chenle shrugged, not at all bothered by the words. Kun looked offended but gave Renjun his food, who accepted it with a smile, making him happier. 

"But boys who don't eat breakfast don't get to play with their toys" Kun joined in, Chenle looked mildly put out as another parent joined in and shook his head in disagreement. "They do. We're always allowed to play with toys" he protested. 

"Nope. Your Bà is right, even adults can't play with toys if they haven't had breakfast, it's the law" Renjun laughed at this "adults don't play with toys! They're for kids". 

"No, Daddy has those Bear figures that he likes to collect". Renjun nodded as he remembered and continued eating. Chenle looked contemplative before reaching towards his chair. Sicheng chuckled as he put the boy down, not buckling it up since he was old enough not to need it. 

"Here we go, breakfast just for Chenle" Kun put the small bowls of rice and soup in front of him, happy as the boy dug right in. 

They both relaxed and sat down when they were sure that both children were happy and eating. The peace didn't last long as Chenle soon started to demand to be let down, only half his breakfast finished. Sicheng looked towards the bowls, reluctant to let the boy out when he had eaten so little but did as Kun gestured for him to. He watched as the boy zoomed out the room as soon as he was put on the floor. 

"It's fine, he'll complain when he's hungry and I can just whip him up a healthy snack. That way everyone is happy and we might not have a crying toddler roaming the house" Sicheng sighed but agreed, moving to stroke Renjun's hair, who was still eating his share. 

They stayed and ate, Sicheng checking on Chenle every now and again, until Renjun had finished. Their oldest son left the room once he showed his parents his empty bowls proudly, earning praises. 

"You go watch them, I'll clean up in here" Sicheng suggested as he collected the bowls from the table. Kun nodded, quickly leaning in for a peck before leaving to watch the two troublemakers. 

Chenle was going through his terrible two's so they knew they had to be understanding, Renjun had been through it already, although he was still mild in temper during that time, something both of them were immensely grateful for. Chenle's was clearly not going to be as easy but Sicheng new that they could do it, Taeyong and Taeil had with Donghyuck (although from what he hears that stage never really stopped for him) and he was the most energetic child from the kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bà = Dad in Chinese


	17. The Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The phone call that can bring happiness to any day.

It's not every day you get a call confirming you are finally able to adopt the baby you have gone through months of tests for and as such it's never a day which can be forgotten, Jaehyun could tell you that.

For months Doyoung and Jaehyun had gone through one application and test to another, of course they knew how important these checks were and appreciated the effort the agency put forward to ensure the children went to good, safe homes where they would be protected and loved. Despite that the wait can be daunting, even with your friends constant reassure that they were going to be perfect parents, Jaehyun was mostly obliged to agree when it was Ten saying so, considering they already had their own child, little Mark who was almost a year old already.

Recently Sicheng and Kun had also been informed that the process of adopting their own son, Renjun, had been finalised and they were now getting him settled at home.

It was early morning when the phone call came, Jaehyun quickly drying his hands and grabbing the phone so as not to disturb Doyoung, who was working on an article for work. 

_**"Hello, this is Jung Jaehyun speaking"**_ Jaehyun smiled as he heard a familiar female voice respond through the speaker, but his heart jumped when his mind raced with different scenarios of why she was calling. 

_**"Good morning Jaehyun, it's Yuri, I have some news that I'm sure you'll be pleased to hear"**_ Hearing this Jaehyun couldn't help the surge of hope that shot through him, and quickly acknowledged what she said, asking what was going on. 

_**"Your applications have been accepted, Lee Jeno is now officially yours".** _

He stayed quiet for a few seconds before thanking her profusely, the noise even attracting Doyoung from his office, who gave the younger male a questioning look but didn't speak up seeing as he was on the phone. Jaehyun sent him a smile to show that it was good news, which Doyoung responded to with an unsure look as he still didn't know who was on the phone .

"Okay, that's great! Thank you so much for all your help, we adored him during his visits but knowing he can now permanently call this home, I'm not sure what to say" Jaehyun admitted trying not to pay attention to the wide-eyes of Doyoung who had been piecing together the situation in his head. 

Yuri laughed and congratulated them again before giving him details of when the final meeting will happen and they would be able to take home their newly adopted child. 

Before Jaehyun had even managed to put the phone down he felt Doyoung wrap his arms around his shoulders. "I can't believe it! Are we actually able to call him ours now?" he asked excitedly, Jaehyun nodded and wrapped his arms around the shorter male's waist, pulling his in for a chaste kiss. 

"We're finally going to be the proud parents of Lee Jeno" Doyoung nodded and felt himself tear up. "All those months of waiting feel more than worth it, we finally have our child" Jaehyun laughed and wiped the tears from his face. "Hey we can't cry, we're going to be dealing with that enough within the next few years" the words didn't seem to help as Doyoung laughed but still ended tearing up more, thoughts full of the rest of his life that he would get to spend with his two family members. 

 

 

"Well now that's done, why don't we go and get Jeno" Yuri smiled as she lead her way into a small bedroom, it was clear it only a temporary room but the child seemed not to mind and it was temporary as he was now moving to his real bedroom at their house, so Jaehyun shrugged it off. Both parents looked down into the crib at the sleeping child. Doyoung could help at coo at his new son. "Honestly even now I still can't believe how much he looks like you, it's so weird" he remarked and Jaehyun looked proud, taking the compliment. "I guess he'll be a real heartbreaker one day" Doyoung rolled his eyes at his spouse as the younger male winked. 

Jeno was only a few months old, put into the adoption system by his mother who had not been prepared to become a single parent. She had signed papers of privacy saying that nothing would be revealed about her to the child or their future parents and vice-versa so she would never be able to contact them. 

Jaehyun had felt bad but he would make sure that Jeno always knew he was their real child despite him obviously being conceived by someone else, he would grow up in a safe and loving environment alongside the other children who he hoped would become the boys best friends one day (of course he had nothing to worry about as they would one day they would all become inseparable).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed this chapter feel free to leave a comment or kudos, they are always deeply appreciated <3


	18. Author's Note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up about some plot changes we're going to be making before we're officially back with this fic!

First of all I want to apologise for our long (and unexplained) hiatus from this fic, I know you guys must hear this a lot but although we love writing, both Pandi and myself are very busy with real life. I'm working long hours and recently starting working towards a promotion and Pandi is looking to go back to college while balancing a full time job so we're rarely available to write to a standard that we see as acceptable.

That being said, we are now planning to bring this fic back to life! However, first we need to make some small but major changes to the existing plot line which if you're a past reader, may be a little confusing.

Most of you will remember that we recently introduced Jungwoo to the cast as Taeyong's nephew, this is the point which is going to change. We decided to instead work Jungwoo into the story as an adult (the extent to which and his relevance will be revealed later ;) ) As he wasn't introduced long ago we won't need to change any of the older chapter but wanted to make you aware (and explain why we deleted Jungwoo's introduction chapter) all the same.

 

After all that, this fic is actually planned to end within about the next four chapters but that isn't going to be where their story ends! For a while we've been planning a story which will be a continuation of this fic which will take place after a small time-skip. The new story will be formatted differently than this one in that it will be linear and continuous instead of jumping about all over the place like this one. The time frame is set a few years in the future and will feature dream kids+Lucas (and maybe our new kids) in highschool as teenagers and the story will predominantly follow the children with the parents being less relevant while still being there and having stories of their own.

That's all from us but we hope you're looking to forward to sharing this new journey with us because we have a lot planned for the future when it comes to this fic!

 

Thanks so much for staying with us,

 

-Lala & Pandi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're still here after our long and unexplained hiatus then thank you!! Although we haven't actively been writing we've never stopped talking about and planning for this fic and we're so happy to be able to share it with you all.
> 
> -Lala and Pandi


End file.
